Reza Merchant: The Collective

Reza Merchant, 26
Company: The Collective
Web: www.thecollective.co.uk 

Aimed at London’s work hard, play hard young professionals, The Collective is a two-pronged property development and management business aiming to “ease the pressure on London’s housing market with affordable, but luxury, shared accommodation and workspaces”.

Founded in 2010 from a library room at London School of Economics, Reza Merchant’s company has designed and managed 250 rooms in London and has a combined portfolio and development pipeline of 1,500 across zones 1-3. Combining the convenience of serviced apartments with the luxury of boutique hotels, clients can search for rooms to rent in desirable areas such as Camden, Hyde Park and Notting Hill starting from £250 per week; while The Collective Elevator provides services from seed funding to incubator programmes, flexible workspace and mentorship to help get young entrepreneurs off the ground.

Over the next few years the company plans to grow its portfolio to 5,000 as it looks beyond London for other cities in need of affordable, high quality spaces and it’s clear investors have every faith in the concept, with The Collective having raked in a staggering £75m in funding to date. Already projecting £10m turnover next year, Merchant is on a mission to “redefine the world for the young, the ambitious and the curious”.